Alaska rocked by 'duplicate candidate' scandal in Senate race

Election-day accusations

A few hours before polls closed in the United States on November 4, Republican senator from Alaska Dan Sullivan publicly accused the Democrats of 'election fraud.' According to him, the campaign of his rival Mary Peltola promoted a 'duplicate candidate' — retired schoolteacher Daniel J. Sullivan, who shares the incumbent senator's surname — in order to siphon off some votes from the sitting lawmaker. 'We are witnessing the biggest election fraud scandal in the history of the state of Alaska — possibly one of the biggest in the history of the US Senate,' the 61-year-old politician told reporters in Anchorage, reports AFP.

Peltola's position and the stakes of the race

Mary Peltola rejected the accusations, saying she knew nothing about the duplicate-candidate scheme. 'They are panicking. They have nothing,' she said at a campaign event, according to AFP. A video posted on Tuesday on her X account did not mention the scandal. Meanwhile, the name of teacher Daniel J. Sullivan, despite the uproar, remained on the ballots. The stakes in the race are high: polls show the rivals running nearly neck and neck, and the outcome could determine which party wins a majority in the Senate. A defeat for Sullivan, who is backed by President Donald Trump, would weaken the Republicans' position in Washington.

Investigation and legal steps

The scandal has gone beyond campaign rhetoric: federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation. According to The Washington Post, cited by AFP, the US Department of Justice sent about 20 target-of-investigation notices, including to a Democratic election lawyer whose firm, it is claimed, represents Peltola. Sullivan himself declined to discuss possible criminal consequences: 'I will leave that to the lawyers, the prosecutors and the FBI.' Trump, outraged by the situation, tried to preemptively challenge the election results in Alaska, but a federal judge rejected the attempt. After voting in Anchorage, the senator said he was prepared to concede defeat 'if every lawful vote is counted and certified,' while also expecting that voters' outrage over the scandal would boost turnout in his favor. The New York Times wrote in detail about the origins of the scheme; its publication last week, Sullivan claims, showed the involvement of Peltola's campaign in organizing the duplicate candidate's run — an allegation the candidate herself denies.